It only took one question to decide the fate of the Woods.

Sophie was thinking, and looking out the window at the rising sun. If you could call it that. It was barely even a sun anymore. Soon her fairytale would have to end, once and for all.

She sighed, still staring out the window. She had to make a choice soon, and she still didn’t know what to choose, no matter how much she pretended she did.

Getting a sudden death wish, she called out, “Rafal!”

“Yes?” A voice asked from right behind her, and she jumped, startled. She turned around to see Rafal looking at her in amusement. He raised an eyebrow at her.

“Did I scare you?” he teased.

“No!” Sophie denied. “Not at all!”

Rafal grinned. “If you say so.” Sophie frowned and he rushed to continue. “What did you need?”

Sophie took a deep breath and steeled herself. “I just wanted to know… How exactly does the ring I wear keep you alive? And why exactly this ring? I mean, I know it’s black swan gold and all, and you needed it to get me to return to you, but why wouldn’t any other ring keep you alive as well?”

Rafal froze. Then he swallowed, and answered slowly, as if thinking his words over before he said them. “Do you remember, at the end of your first year here, when my brother killed me?” Sophie nodded and he went on. “And do you remember that he was able to turn into a white swan?” Sophie nodded again. “Well, I’m able to turn into a swan like him, except I turn into a black one. That ring is made from gold from myself.”

Sophie’s eyes widened. “But that means-”

“That ring is the key to my immortality. It’s a piece of my own soul. Destroy it, and you destroy me as well.”

Sophie stood completely still, as she just realized how much trust Rafal had put in her. And she had betrayed it before. How could he trust her so much now? She bit her lip, feeling a little overwhelmed.

“I trust you because you are like me, Sophie. I trust you because you’ve learned that loving anyone Good only destroys you, like I did with my brother. And because of that, I know you won’t betray me again, Sophie.”

Sophie frowned. “How did you know-”

Rafal laughed, the sound washing over Sophie like water. It was a beautiful sound. “Haven’t we been over this? I know how a Reader’s mind thinks. Also, I’m pretty sure that’s what anyone would be thinking if they were put in the same position as you, not just a Reader.”

Sophie glared at him, and crossed her arms.

“Not that that’s a bad thing,” Rafal said hurriedly. Sophie sighed and put her hand on his arm.

“I won’t betray you Rafal,’’ she vowed. “I promise it.”

Rafal smiled.

~C~

Sophie watched impassively as Rafal brought his axe down on Tedros and Agatha’s necks. Her own father’s corpse lay behind her, bleeding out.

She looked up at Rafal’s face, and saw him smiling, his whole face lit up like the rising sun. He walked toward her gracefully and swept her into his arms, kissing her passionately. She kissed him back just as hard, feeling her love for him overwhelm her.

Then Rafal pulled back and looked her in the eye. “For a moment there, I thought you were going to do it. But now I feel bad for doubting you.” There was no need to clarify the it he was talking about. They both knew what he meant.

Sophie cocked her head to the side, and said, “I did tell you I wouldn’t betray you.”

“Yes you did,” he agreed, still smiling. “Now how about we deal with the students that did betray us.”

Sophie smiled evilly. “That would be my pleasure.”

They turned to face the crowd behind them, with Sophie wondering what would have happened, had she not chosen what she did. Then she dismissed the thought. There was no use dwelling on what-ifs. For now, it was only the present that mattered.

And it was a present she was happy with.